Newsletter

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual General Meeting of the Members (the “Meeting”) of the Country Music Association of Ontario (CMAO) will take place on Monday, July 29th, 2013, commencing at 7:00 pm at Cosmo Music located at 10 Via Renzo Dr., Richmond Hill, ON for the following purposes: to receive the financial statements of the Association for the year ended March 31, 2013; to elect the directors of the Association; to waive the appointment of Auditors of the Association for the 2013-2014 fiscal year; to review and adopt proposed changes to the by-laws of the Association; and to transact such other business as may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment thereof. You have the right to vote by proxy if you […]

Remember when you were a kid and you were convinced Santa didn’t get your letter? You pretty much expected that while the tree was beautiful, you were going to have to wait until next year for that big gift, in the fancy wrapping and the big red bow, with a smile on your face because Christmas was celebration for all! Then you woke up in the morning and you got exactly what you wanted and more! That my friends, sums up my CMAO Awards experience. Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting failure. I just wasn’t expecting this to be as big a show as it was. I was absolutely stunned how it all came together. The stars were there, Charlie Major rocked as […]

Dear members: Wow! The CMAO inaugural awards show was a huge success. Unlike the rest of the board members, who were working back stage (suckers), I had the opportunity to watch the show from start to finish and it was spectacular. I’m very proud of what we have accomplished, but now it’s back to work and getting the next year’s awards show ready. I want to congratulate all the winners and thank all of our performers and volunteers. For all the nominees that did not get to take home the hardware, please keep up the good work and keep making Ontario proud. As the awards show is now behind us, we will be getting back to business and first order of business is the CMAO […]

by Trisha Evelyn To say that the CMAO’s first awards ceremony was met with excitement wouldn’t even come close to describing the winners as they held a piece of our history in their hands or the fans calling out to their favourite stars each time they stepped on stage. The day we had all been waiting for, prepping for, and stressing over was finally here. Finally, our province’s world-class country music talent would be recognized by their home crowd, on their home soil. Fans came to the awards early and stayed late, flocking towards their favourite stars, who posed for photos and got to know the throngs of people who sing along to their songs on the radio. The lobby served as a pre-show […]

by Stephanie Brooks It was a busy few months of preparation, soundchecks, press conferences, RSVPs, hype and hoopla, and glitz and glam. The inaugural 2013 CMAO Awards held on May 27 in Markham were just as flawless as the winners they crowned. The awards were a celebration and showcase of the best Ontario has to offer in country music and provide both artists and budding artists with a tangible and exciting goal to work toward. And along with awards shows like The Grammy’s, The Juno’s, CMT Awards, CMA’s and ACM’s (hey, we’re right up there, aren’t we?), the eventful ride that was the first CMAO Awards is coming to a bittersweet close… for a year. After all, it’s the start of a new season – […]

The Board of Directors of the CMAO would like to congratulate everyone involved in making our inaugural show such a success: our generous sponsors, our media partners, the witty presenters, our host, Charlie Major, and the talented artists who provided such great performances. As well as these people, we are very grateful for the staff and crew of the Markham Theatre, our event volunteers, house band musicians The Western Swing Authority, our announcer Bill Hart and all of our members (and soon to be members) that attended the show. We would also like to recognize our past presidents of the CMAO Board who have given so much to the organization during and beyond their tenures: Heather Ostertag, Barry Haugen and founding president, Robert McArthur.

Toronto, Canada: Burlington, Ontario’s Billy J White has a lot to be excited about. With the steady growth of his profile and performances in the country music scene, Billy was nominated for 2013’s Male Artist of the Year by the Country Music Association of Ontario, has a string of festival and fair dates this coming summer including Manitoulin Country Fest, Country In the Woods and Lucknow Fall Fair, has recently performed the Milton Street Festival and took the songwriters circle stage at NSAI’s annual Tin Pan North with multi-award-winning songwriter, Tim Taylor. Billy’s motto “Come See Me Live” has captured the attention of fans, garnering him the spot of Grand Marshal at Burlington’s Sound of Music Festival Parade on Saturday, June 15th. “Last year Billy […]

Announcing “Fair Trade Music” Initiative, World’s Songwriters and Composers Unite to form a Global Advocacy Network Washington, DC, June 3, 2013: For the first time in music industry history, over 25,000 songwriters and composers from nearly fifty countries throughout Europe, North America, South America, and Africa have joined together to form a new, wholly independent advocacy Network for music creators. Its immediate goal will be the championing of a set of Fair Trade Music Principles designed to ensure transparency, fair compensation, and autonomy for music creators in an increasingly complex and non-transparent music business landscape. The new group, characterized by its founders as a “Network of independent alliances,” will serve not only to support advocacy for music creator rights throughout the world, but as a […]

Canadian Musician magazine has launched Canadian Musician Radio, a weekly internet radio program hosted by CM Editor Andrew King and Assistant Editor Mike Raine. The weekly program will be broadcast on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST at www.canadianmusicianradio.com Each program will be roughly half an hour in length and feature weekly news updates, informative how-to discussions with industry insiders and experts, profile interviews with great Canadian acts, and lively discussions on issues pertinent to musicians and music industry professionals. CM Radio will also keep listeners up-to-date on events, artistic and career opportunities, and industry trends. Everything related to music, from songwriting to marketing and promotion, will be discussed with experts and experienced pros. Listeners who follow the Canadian Musician Radio channel will receive automatic updates […]